The door bell rang. Keya and Kian jumped up from the sofa to open the door. As expected it was the pizza delivery boy. They called out to their father who paid the bill. Both of them ran inside with the pizza boxes. They opened the box and took  one slice each and placed it on their plates. Just before taking  a bite, Kian tore open a packet of oregano and sprinkled it all over his slice.

He said, ” I can not ever have my pizza without oregano. It is such a flavorful spice.”

Keya already halfway through her slice, said, while still munching, “What did you just say? Spice? Oregano is not a spice but a herb.”

“But spice and herb, aren’t they the same? That is what I always thought.”,  Kian said.

Keya looked at him in surprise. Though the brother and sister were twins she always believed she was the smarter one. This conversation only reconfirmed her belief. She said, ” They are not the same. Herb are the leafy green parts of a plant (either fresh or dried) used for flavoring food. Otherwise herbs can also be seeds or flowers used for medicines or perfume.”

“Then what is a spice?”, Kian questioned.

” Spice is a seed, fruit, root or bark of a plant or a tree always dried up before using. It is mostly used for flavoring, coloring or preserving food.” , Keya replied while looking to pick the biggest of the remaining slices.

Their father who was until now just listening to the conversation said, ” Mint, oregano, basil, green onions, grass, parsley, chervil and chives are some herbs where as turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, paprika, pepper, nutmeg, ginger, cumin are some spices we use in cooking.”

“Ok. So I got it!! “, Kian winked and smiled. ” I can not ever have my pizza without oregano. It is such a flavorful herb.”